TORONTO -- Seven Hamilton, ON-area residents are suing Toronto Police for $1.4 million, alleging they were unlawfully arrested during the G20 summit by officers.Members of the group claim they were unreasonably targeted and subjected to extremely "profane, sexist and homophobic" comments.

Plaintiff Alicia Ridge alleged she was sexually assaulted by a male officer who "firmly grabbed her right buttock" during a pat-down search.

She also alleged the cop said she was attractive, then cut her waist wallet off with a knife, "bringing the knife close to her abdomen," terrifying her during this search, the statement of claim alleges.

She has also filed a separate complaint with the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD), which recommended a misconduct charge against the officer for allegedly calling the women "dykes" and urging them to shave their legs.

The officer had written in his memo notebook that the women in the protest group all had "hairy legs," the OIPRD report stated.

"The circumstances of the arrest are disturbing and the amount of the claim emphasizes its seriousness," lawyer Davin Charney said.

"It's alleged that police made sexist comments about women's bodies (and) they made homophobic comments referring to women as 'dykes'."

The lawsuit names the Toronto Police Services Board as a defendant.

Toronto Police spokesman Mark Pugash said that he could not comment because he had not seen the lawsuit.

They were taken to the G20 temporary jail on Eastern Ave., held and released the next day. None were charged.

"The plaintiffs were profiled by police using discriminatory, sexist, and unreasonable criteria," the claim states.

Senior officers began cultivating a "climate ... of hostility" on June 26, 2010 to stem an outbreak of violence by vandals using Black Bloc tactics, the claim alleges.

Consequently, many frontline G20 officers searched, detained and arrested people who fit the "protester profile" -- people who wore black, had backpacks or carried bandanas, goggles and gas masks, the claim alleges.